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Jazz Articles | Future
ears&eyes Records: From Chicago to the World
Those who feel that jazz has run out of steam, that there is nothing new to say, should encounter bassist and renaissance man, Matthew Golombisky, who runs the Chicago-based label ears&eyes. The name says it all. Golombisky is interested in what is going on around him. He is not only curious about music, but also passionate when it comes to art, movies, design and so much more. However, music is where it all comes together and this year, 2017, marks ...
read moreArt Pepper: Presents “West Coast Sessions” Volumes 3 & 4
Today is the day that I finally come clean about Art Pepper and me. In 1984, I was taking a year off between having finished Pharmacy School and beginning a graduate program in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design. During this time, I had my yearly eye appointment with my ophthalmologist, one Dr. A. Henry Thomas, with whom I struck up a conversation regarding jazz. Up to this point, the only jazz recording I owned was...of course...Miles Davis's Kind of Blue ...
read moreDjango Bates / Frankfurt Radio Big Band: Saluting Sgt. Pepper
Django Bates stellar career has been far less celebrated than it deserves to be, at least on this, somewhat myopic, side of the Atlantic. Born in Kent, on the outskirts of London, he has achieved prominence as a multi-instrumentalist, band leader and composer. In the early part of his career he created Human Chain and the large-scale orchestra Delightful Precipice but drew the most attention for his pivotal composing for Loose Tubes. That large cooperative included Julian Argüelles, Steve Argüelles, ...
read moreBob Lark-Phil Woods Quintet: Thick as Thieves
Remember the good old days when jazz groups came out swinging and took no prisoners until the battle had been won? Well, why settle for memories when you can lay your cares aside for an hour or so and groove to Thick as Thieves, the third and last album by the unrivaled and always-aggressive Bob Lark / Phil Woods Quintet, recorded, as were the first two, in concert at Joe Segal's venerable Jazz Showcase in Chicago. This is as close ...
read moreMeilana Gillard: Dream Within A Dream
There are eight years between Ohio-born, Belfast-based tenor saxophonist Meilana Gillard's impressive debut, Day One (Inner circle Music, 2009), and her follow-up, Dream Within A Dream (Lyte Records, 2017) -simply way too long a gap for a musician and composer of her talents. Her debut, backed by Nir Felder, Tyshawn Sorey, Marcos Varela and Sam Barsh, flitted between classic jazz balladry and a more contemporary, upbeat vibe. For this all-acoustic outing, Gillard pins her old-school colors firmly to the mast, ...
read morePhat Phunktion: Live At The High Noon
If you have an abiding appetite or innate taste for old school funk a la Tower of Power, then Phat Phunktion is right in your wheelhouse. This band is poetry in motion-constantly-but without the off-putting histrionics and faux showmanship that so often undermines the impact of the musicianship. Consequently, as with “Don't Destroy the Funk," the frequent exhortations to the audience in the band's hometown Madison, Wisconsin venue pale next to the grinding rhythm section of bassist Nick ...
read moreAaron Parks: Rising To The Challenge
"I'm always trying to put myself into scenarios with people who play in a way that challenges me and gives me a chance to grow," says pianist Aaron Parks, who has carved an impressive career in jazz since going to jny: New York City early in the new century and eventually garnering a major gig with trumpeter Terence Blanchard's band. The group's he's played in are nothing but challenging, as he serves music made by people like Kurt ...
read moreMichael Pedicin: As It Should Be: Ballads 2
With Ballads...Searching For Peace (Self Produced, 2011), saxophonist Michael Pedicin managed to produce a work that satisfied by focusing on subdued sentiments while also shining a light on the compositions of some of the great tenors of all time. On this perfectly complementary companion piece, Pedicin dims the lights and wears his heart on his sleeve again. But this time it's guitarist Johnnie Valentino's music that's in the spotlight. Eight of the ten tracks that comprise As ...
read moreCristián Alvear, Seijiro Murayama: Karoujite
Before coming together in this duo, the Chilean acoustic guitarist Cristián Alvear and the Japanese percussionist Seijiro Murayama were both well-established Potlatch artists. Alvear has built a reputation as a performer of compositions by Wandelweiser members such as Jürg Frey and Antoine Beuger, as exemplified by his fine album of Michael Pisaro pieces Melody, Silence (Potlatch, 2015). Seijiro is represented on the label by a pair of 2011 duo albums alongside French improvising saxophonists, Window Dressing with Jean-Luc Guionnet and ...
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